We’ve just learned that regulators in France have authorised the use of a new bee-killing pesticide called Sulfoxaflor. It’s a neonicotinoid -- the class of pesticides that is known to pose a deadly risk for bees and other pollinators.

We still can’t believe it!

France has been at the forefront of the battle to protect the bees: it is the first country to ever decide on an outright ban of all neonics starting in 2018.

Help Protect a Fragile Ecosystem from Being Contaminated by Neonics that Poison Aquatic Organisms!

'Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) needs to hear from you as it completes a draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) on yet another application from oyster growers to poison Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor with the neonicotinoid imidicloprid. This is an unacceptable way to treat a critically important estuary, given what we know about the threat that neonicotinoid insecticides pose to aquatic organisms, in addition to their widely known adverse effects on pollinators."

With imidacloprid being under review and its now known widespread water contamination, accumulation potential in sediments and effects on wildlife including invertebrates, it is folly to use it in a water environment. The last time I checked, oysters were also invertebates....

Please take a minute and consider sending a pre-written letter.

Friday, May 5, 2017

Contact SaskPower about the 2017 wood pole Maintenance Program

SaskPower is going on with business as usual by replacing toxic posts with more toxic posts because that is what they have always done. The difference between then and now is that NOW, we KNOW about the health and environmental risks of pentachlorophenol. In 2015, penta was added to Annex A (elimination) of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and, in three years, the chemical will be phased out. Poles are being planted now that are going to be giving off toxic penta for 50, 60 or 70 years to come. Is ths acceptable? Adding the cost of over $8000 of incinerating each post and the health and environmental costs to the purchase cost should make it obvious that new posts that SaskPower installs are either steel or concrete.

Will Your MP Vote To Label GMOs And Uphold Your Right To Know?

Will Your MP Vote To Label GMOs And Uphold Your Right To Know? (HuffPost The Blog, 2 May 2017) A good review article on the issue with lots of linked references including the following: GMO Myths and TruthsAn evidence-based examination of the claims made for the safetyand efficacy of genetically modified crops and foods which I found to be an excellent analysis of an important paper, the Nicolia review and the 1700 publications listed in the supplementary materials. "This analysis is not exhaustive, but focuses on the most important aspects of the review. A full analysis would take months and would result in an impractically long report. However, even this level of investigation reveals many shortcomings in the Nicolia review and supports the conclusion that it fails to provide convincing evidence of the safety of GMO foods and crops."

EPA Proposes that Glyphosate (Roundup) Does Not Cause Cancer

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has reached the same conclusion in 2015, 'However, EFSA’s report is limited in that it reviewed glyphosate alone, unlike IARC, which reviewed glyphosate and its formulated products (Roundup) which are more relevant for evaluating risks to human health.' The EPA's new position is contrary to its previous position.

'The issue paper was released in preparation for the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) meeting, October 18-21, which convenes to review EPA’s evaluation of the carcinogenic potential of glyphosate.'

EPA’s selection of advisory board members and past FIFRA SAP nominees have been criticized because of conflicts of interest, but it is not known how this particular panel will react to EPA’s proposal.(links in link above)

We encourage you to submit written comments for the FIFRA SAP to review and consider during their meeting. How to information in the link to the article.

Friday, February 6, 2015

Pest Control Products Act 'act' Urgent Action Alert

Government members of the Federal Standing Committee on Health are using their majority to force a very quick review of the Pest Control Products Act (the law that governs the licensing of pesticides in Canada). The Act--like many laws--contains a mandato

URGENT and MPORTANT Please take a minute to support this campaign by signing and sending the letter.

February 4, 2015

Government members of the Federal Standing Committee on Health are using their majority to force a very quick review of the Pest Control Products Act (the law that governs the licensing of pesticides in Canada). The Act--like many laws--contains a mandatory review clause, which means the Standing Committee on Health must undertake an examination at set intervals and recommend changes to Parliament.

The Sierra Club hasfive reasonable recommendations:

1. The Precautionary Principle should be the basis of all approvals.2. The Act should be amended to ensure that the need for a new pesticide be demonstrated as part of the approval process.3. Qualified requests for a reconsideration of a Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) decision should result in a timely, mandatory review.4. The public should be informed at the beginning and not the end of the approval process.5. A Citizen Review Committee should be established to review PMRA decisions, policies and practices and advise the minister of its findings.